Southeast Division rivals will square off Sunday afternoon as the Miami Heat (28-22) take on the Charlotte Hornets (14-36). The Hornets will host this Eastern Conference matchup at the Spectrum Center, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 pm ET.
Miami comes into this one having won three in a row, including a 110-105 win over the Orlando Magic in their last contest. In the win, forward Jimmy Butler had a game-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
Charlotte is also coming off of a win in their last game as they beat the Chicago Bulls 111-96 on Thursday. Terry Rozier tied for a game-high 28 points in the win, while both Mason Plumlee (21 points, 12 rebounds) and LaMelo Ball (15 points, 11 rebounds) had double-doubles.
The Heat are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -255 to win, while the Hornets’ moneyline sits at +210. The spread features Charlotte as 6-point underdogs (-110).
Heat Look To Make Move In The East
At 28-22, the Miami Heat currently sit in sixth in the Eastern Conference, seven games out of first place. With only five games separating them from second place in the conference, Miami would love to keep their winning streak going and move up the conference standings.
Offensively, Miami has really struggled this year. They currently rank last in the NBA in scoring, averaging just 108.5 points per game.
Despite their low scoring, they have three players averaging 20 points or more as Jimmy Butler (21.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.1 steals), Bam Abedayo (21.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists), and Tyler Herro (20.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists) have all had nice seasons.
While their offense has struggled, their defense is elite. They currently rank second in the NBA in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 108.1 points per game. It is that defensive prowess that has helped keep them competitive in the East.
Charlotte Looks To Improve At Home
The Hornets have really struggled this season, and unfortunately, the venue has not made a difference. Not only are they 8-20 on the road, but they are a miserable 6-16 at home. While the postseason might be far-fetched at this point, they would at least like to improve on their home record.
Charlotte finally got guard LaMelo Ball back in their last contest, as he had missed several games with an ankle and wrist injury. Ball has only played in 23 games this year, but he is averaging a team-leading 23.1 points per game in those contests. He is also putting up 5.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Aside from Ball, Terry Rozier is also having a nice season. A prime trade candidate, the 28-year-old Rozier is averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game this season for the Hornets.
As a team, Charlotte ranks 28th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 118.6 points per game. On offense, they rank 25th in scoring, averaging 112 points per game (109.8 at home).
Take The Heat To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, Miami is 7-0 straight up and 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games against the Hornets. As for Charlotte, they are 3-6 against the spread in their last nine games and 1-5 against the spread in their last six at home.
While both teams are subpar on the offensive side, Miami’s defense will be the deciding factor in this one. Charlotte already struggles to score points, and with Miami’s elite defense smothering them, this one could get ugly early.
Take Miami to win and to cover the 6-point spread (-110).
